


Rosewood

by Teratophelia



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, just cause, orc cowboy, woefully badly described life on a farm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-06 14:04:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16834096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teratophelia/pseuds/Teratophelia
Summary: One day you get a letter from your uncle asking if you'd like to work for him for a while. Tired of city life, you accept, and travel to Rosewood to see what life there has to offer





	1. Chapter 1

The sleepy, rural town of Rosewood was so idyllic you felt like you just wandered into a postcard. And by all accounts, this was just what you needed.  
You'd lived in the city for as long as you could remember and had gotten busy job after busy job, spreading yourself thin. So when the letter from your uncle Archie dropped into your mailbox asking if you'd like to work for him, you jumped on the chance to get away from it all.  
Your uncle Archibald, Archie for short, ran a farm in the middle of basically nowhere, adjacent to a town that seemed to have barely escaped the 1800s. He'd always been the odd one out in your family in a good way and you'd spent plenty of summers as a kid on his farm.  
The letter detailed that he'd just recently lost one of his workers on the farm and wondered if you'd be interested in coming over for a while to help out. He'd understand if you were to busy too.  
The letter had admittedly come out of the blue but you were immensely grateful for it. So late one night you packed your essentials and some practical clothing and the next morning you hopped in your car and drove towards Rosewood.  
You looked around and couldn't help but smile. In a world that changed so frequently and rapidly, this town seemed to be stuck in time, being exactly the same as it had been since you were a child.  
There was Mrs. Patton general store, the Stallion tavern (you were still annoyed they forwent the obvious alliteration), the sheriff's office, the train station which seemed to have gotten a new coat of paint, the post office,... It had all stayed the same.  
You felt comfortable in this familiarity as you made your way to your uncles farm. It was as a little out of town, down a dusty road you didn't trust your car on.  
You hummed as your carried your bag, seeing people and monsters alike going about their business. A centaur was plowing a nearby field with a plow strapped to his hind quarters, two human ladies and a demoness of some kind were chatting while carrying their groceries home, a minotaur was making the rounds with a genuine cart and horse to deliver milk and eggs around,... Some gave you a friendly wave as you passed which you happily returned.  
You ended up whistling to yourself as you made your way down the path at the edge of town which lead to your uncles home. You could see the building in the distance and saw a figure riding a horse guiding a bunch of sheep around. You watched the figure as he worked and you made your way closer.  
As the figure became clearer, you noticed he was an orc. He was broad-shouldered and blocky, wearing a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair was a striking copper colour and fell a little past his shoulders, matching the beard he sported. On his head he wore a black cowboy hat, and to complete the look, he wore blue jeans and cowboy boots, a faint glimmer betraying he wore spurs too.  
Before you really noticed, you had reached the entry gate and the cowboy had herded all the sheep into their coral.  
You reached out to open the gate when he turned around, looking very confused at you.  
"'scuse me, mx. What do you think you're doin'?"  
You looked a little startled as he spoke to you. His voice was deep and a little gravely, a southern accent weighing his words. He hopped off his horse, not looking away from you.  
"I uh,... Archie's my uncle? He invited me over." You said. The cowboy crossed his arms and unceremoniously spit on the ground. Charming.  
"Archie's yer uncle? That's the first I heard about that." He said, his stance turning a little defensive. "How do I know you're not gonna rob us blind?"  
"THERE YOU ARE!"  
The cowboy flinched slightly as a loud voice called out. Your uncle speed walked towards the pair of you, his arms spread wide. You smiled as your uncle beamed at you, opening the gate and giving you a bear hug.  
"It's been so long! God, look at you!"  
Your uncle held you at arms length and gave you a once over.  
"It's good to see you too, uncle." You said back, happy to see your flamboyant relative. He'd gotten a little older since you last saw him. His hair was mostly grey, he'd grown out a beard and his age was showing but he looked as jovial as ever.  
"Ah, sorry I sent that letter out of nowhere. I hope I didn't inconvenience you!"  
You shook your head, smiling.  
"Your letter came at the perfect time." You said, putting your bag down. Archie seemed relieved.  
"Good, good. And I see you met John here!" Archie said, turning towards the orc who seemed a little puzzled. He looked you over and then looked at Archie.  
"Yeah, I did." You said, smile faltering a split second.  
"He's my main help here. His brother used to work here too but unfortunately he left us for better pastures."  
John let out an annoyed grunt.  
"He ran off with his girlfriend." He said. "Up and left without a word."  
Archie let out a dramatic sigh.  
"Now now, no time for complaining. Today is a joyous day! Now come, let me show you to your room!"  
Archie walked off a few paces and then turned back.  
"John, be a dear and carry their bags?"  
John rolled his eyes and grabbed your bags, giving you a motion with his arm to follow your uncle.  
You gave him a soft thank you and followed Archie who made his way to the house.  
The rest of your arrival was spent unpacking and becoming familiar with everything again. Archie showed you around and explained your duties and where you could find everything you needed. It all seemed pretty straight forward.  
John had gone back to tending to the animals and kept mostly to himself. You weren't entirely sure how you felt about him yet...  
After dinner that night, you basically headed straight to bed, tired from the travel and the excitement of relocating. In your tired haze, you forgot to set your alarm and you woke up with a start the next morning, the clock on the wall reading it was well past nine am.  
You cursed yourself as you rushed through your morning routine and hurried downstairs, the home empty aside from uncle Archie's pet cat, a grumpy old tabby named Kid.  
You quickly drank some coffee and hurried to the stables, hoping you wouldn't get in trouble for sleeping in on your first day.  
When you got to the stables, you found a sight that made you red in the face. John was already hard at work cleaning the horse stables, his shirt discarded. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail and you watched with held breath as he turned around.  
You blinked a few times and looked him over. He was sweating, his upper body covered in a sheen of it. His chest was covered with a modest amount of chest hair, the same striking colour as his hair.  
"Well well, sleepin' beauty decided to show up." He said, malice absent in his voice. You felt your face flush.  
"I forgot to set my alarm." You muttered, walking further into the stable and doing your best to ignore his shirtlessness.  
"'s happened to the best of us, I suppose." He said, leaning on the shovel he had been using. You cleared your throat and grabbed a nearby brush, going into one of the emptied parts.  
"I suppose so." You said, making a point of starting work. John chuckled behind you.  
"Something the matter?" You heard him ask. You kept sweeping the spare hay together, shaking your head.  
"Y'see, I find that hard to believe." He said. You relented and looked up at him. He was leaning against the entrance to the cubicle thing you were in, preventing you from leaving. He'd hooked his thumbs behind his belt buckle and was giving you a pointed look.  
You suddenly felt like you'd landed in the middle of a porn intro.  
"Well, if you must know, I'd prefer you put on a shirt. Before you poke someone's eye out."  
John frowned and looked down before letting out an amused laugh.  
"Yeah, you'll have'ta get used to that. Shoveling this literal shit around 's hard work." John said, standing up straight. "But for once I'll play nice."  
He walked off and you watched him through the bars of the cubicle as he put on a singlet that hung off a hook on the wall next to a flannel.  
"Much appreciated." You called out. John turned to you and gave you a polite nod of the head before he went back to work.  
About an hour and a half later, the stables were cleaned up and neat for as far as they could be.  
After the stables, you led the horses back, fed the chickens, had lunch and spent your afternoon feeding the rest of the animals.  
John never seemed to be very far away from you. Your reasoning was that uncle Archie probably had tasked him with making sure you didn't get yourself in trouble.  
Soon enough your first day came to an end, you and Archie sitting around the dinner table.  
"How are you and John getting on?" Archie asked, poking around in his plate. You frowned briefly.  
"We're getting along fine. He's a bit... Odd."  
Archie nodded.  
"Ah, yeah he's... He takes a bit to warm up to. Honest fella. He's a bit jaded cause his brother found his happy ending."  
You gave Archie a curious look.  
"Well, I'll tell you if you keep it to yourself."  
"Of course." You replied after hurriedly chewing your food and swallowing it.  
Archie cleared his throat and looked at you with a gravitas you weren't used from him.  
"Him and his brother are orphans. I took 'em under my wing when they were teens. Let 'em do some work around the farm and offered them a roof over their head. John has always taken care of Alex, his brother, and they were thick as thieves. Until Mary entered the scene. Alex fell head over heels for her and spent a lot of time with her. Skipped work too. John wasn't very happy and they started fighting. John just didn't know it was time to let the boy stretch his wings and go." Archie sighed, shaking his head. "Alex and Mary eloped in the middle of the night. Recon they're probably up by Yellowcreek by now." He said, scratching his chin briefly.  
"John was mad and scorned that his brother would leave like that. He's simmered down but it'll be a while before him and Alex will be on good terms."  
You looked back at your plate, feeling a little weird about the situation.  
"John's a good guy. He just wanted his brother to be safe. He just did it in a bad way." Archie sighed and put a hand over yours. "Either way, I'm glad you two get along, for what it's worth."  
You nodded and the pair of you finished dinner in silence. That night you retreated to bed, John's story swirling in your head. You drifted off to sleep, curious to know what tomorrow would bring.


	2. Chapter 2

Before you really minded, two weeks had passed since you arrived in Rosewood. You'd made yourself at home and the people in town very much started treating you like one of their own.  
John had slowly warmed up to you and you two were on relatively friendly terms, something your uncle seemed far to pleased about. You were suspecting he was trying to play matchmaker.  
Either way, you woke up one morning to find your uncle gone and a note left on the table next to some money.  
"Dear,  
Something came up in the next town over that needs my attention. I will be gone for three days at most.  
If you'd be so kind, take the wagon into town and pick up some supplies. Take John with you. He knows what we need.  
Uncle Archie.  
Ps. Don't forget to feed Kid"  
You furrowed your eyebrows and turned the note over. You wondered what it was that required Archie's attention so desperately and for three whole days at that, but you knew better than to question his madness.  
With a sigh, you replaced the note, had breakfast and head out the door, finding John combing his horse just outside the stables. His horse was a calm mare with a chestnut coat he lovingly named Boadicea.  
"Morning, cowboy." You called out. John tipped his hat at you   
"Mornin'." He said back when you were close enough so he wouldn't have to raise his voice.  
"Apparently we gotta do grocery shopping for Archie while he's gone." You said, handing John the note. The orc's eyebrows pinched together in a confused expression as he red the note.  
"Great. The old coot is at it again." He sighed, handing the note back.  
You raised an eyebrow. "At it again? Whats that supposed to mean?"  
John sighed again and licked his lips as he finished brushing Boadicea.  
"Archie has a woman he's sweet on. Some lady named Rosemarie up in Wryhollow or something. I don't remember. Anyway, he goes off to see her once or twice a month and he thinks people are stupid enough not to talk. Not sure why he's keeping it a secret," John made air quotes. "But that's this... Urgent matter he needed to leave for."  
The orc seemed less than pleased as he took Boadicea to the field a few horses were already grazing on.   
"Well,... It's Archie." You said, shrugging. "Maybe he just doesn't want people to stick their nose in his love life."  
"Or maybe she's married." John said bitterly. You glanced at him and noticed his face was twisted in a scowl. Time to drop the topic at hand, you thought.  
"So, what do we need?" You asked, watching John as he removed the head gear from Boadicea and let her roam.   
"Animal feed, for the most part." John said, gesturing towards a sturdier horse that was your personal favourite. It was a big stalion with a dappled grey coat. You'd named him as a kid so he went by the unfortunate moniker of Sprinkle.  
"Also some food for us." John called out as you led Sprinkle off the field to the barn where the wagon was kept. John followed with a second horse. This one was a white and brown mare with a lot of personality named Dutchess. She was one of Archie's favourites, for as far as you could remember.  
"That's fair. Hope Archie left enough money..."  
"The old coot might be weird as fuck, but he ain't stingy. You'll be fine."  
You hitched the horses in front of the cart and a moment later you were on the wagon, driving the not so long distance to Rosewood itself. John sat next to you, looking a bit grumpier than usual. Of course, you got curious.  
"Something up, big guy?"  
John grunted, shrugging his shoulders.  
"Got a letter from my brother." He said, not seeming like he wanted to elaborate. After a few beats, he did though. " 's gettin' married. Asked me to be there. To be his best man."  
You couldn't hide the surprised look on your face.  
"Are you going?"  
Another shrug.  
"Dunno yet. I'm still mad at him. Looked after his sorry ass since mom and pa died and for what. For him to just... Run away."  
John made a broad gesture with his arm as he spoke, getting worked up.   
"After all we've been through. He just-"  
You put a hand on his shoulder, cutting him off.  
"He's still your brother. You might not see eye to eye but to not go to his wedding over something... So stupid seems like it'll do more harm than good."  
John fell quiet. You could tell you got to him, at least that's what you hoped.  
A few moments later you reached town and stopped in front of the general store. John helped you off the wagon, still all quiet and broody.  
After tethering the horses, you followed John inside. He took his hat off and walked to the counter, doing what had to be done. You simply looked around for any other stuff you might need.  
As you were perusing the snacks, you overheard Mrs Patton and John talk.  
"-wouldn't hurt, y'know."  
John let out a non committal noise.  
"Come on now, boy. I've seen the way you look at them. Just get over yourself."  
"Don't think Archie would 'preciate a degenerate like me goin' after-"  
There was the sound of someone hitting something but you were a little to startled by what you'd just overheard. You pretended like nothing was wrong and grabbed the bag of chips you'd been staring at for a couple of minutes.  
"You're not a degenerate. A little... rowdy yes, but not that. Anywho, I'll send Geoff to come help you load up the food." You heard Mrs. Patton say as she wrote something down in a ledger. You walked towards the counter with the snacks you'd picked out, earning an amused glance for John.  
"Is that all yer gettin'?" He asked, crossing his arms.  
"You said you'd get the rest. I'm just treating myself." You said, plopping your snacks down on the counter. Mrs. Patton glanced between the pair of you and gave John a knowing grin before turning away and getting Geoff, her oldest son if memory served.  
After paying and loading everything onto the wagon, you made the trip back. You sat there in silence as John steered the horses, the reigns resting loosely in his hands.  
"If you want I'll go with you?"  
" 'scuse me?"  
John gave you a confused look, raising one eyebrow.  
"To your brother's wedding." You clarified. "Maybe it'll be less awkward if you have a plus one." You mused, looking down at your hands in your lap. You knew you were red in the face right now and you regretted suggesting it. But you meant well. You'd grown fond of John and you didn't like seeing him so torn up.  
"Perhaps. I'll think on it." John replied after a moment of silence that seemed to drag on far longer than it should have.  
The rest of the day was filled with the normal chores. You spent more time thinking about the whole situation with John than you'd like to admit. It was obvious there was still bad blood between him and Alex but to just.. miss the wedding?  
You sighed as you walked into the stable, the door still being opened. The sun had started to set and you were prepping to settle down for the night.  
You put away your tools, thinking about inviting John over for dinner. He stayed in a small cottage on the farm's grounds but lived alone for as far as you knew. It maybe would be nice for the both of you to have dinner together.  
You were drawn from your thoughts by quick breathing and a weird, repetitive noise. You furrowed your eyebrows as you followed the noise and peeked around the corner in one of the separate cubicles horses were usually put in.  
What you saw there made your eyes go wide. John was sitting in the hay, leaning against a hay bale. His jeans were pushed down a little and his hand was gripped around his dick.  
His eyes were squeezed shut, thankfully and you watched as he ran a hand up his shirt, exposing a slightly soft tummy.  
He groaned, tipping his head back, his hand suddenly stilling as he came all over himself. You gasped, suddenly alerting the orc. He looked you dead in the eye right before you turned away and speed walked out of the stables, straight towards the house.  
As soon as the front door closed behind you, you slid down it until you were sitting on the floor, your hands clasped over your mouth.  
How the fuck were you gonna look him in the eye now.  
And why was he jacking off in the barn?


End file.
